Methods

Specimen storage, transportation, and shipment

For each study participant, the following biological specimens are stored:

10 aliquots (1 mL each) of urine,

20 aliquots (0.2 mL each) of plasma,

20 aliquots of serum,

6 aliquots of buffy coat, and

6 aliquots of red blood cells.

These biological materials are used for measurements of markers of metabolism, somatic and germline mutations, epigenetics, nutritional biomarkers, hormones, and metabonomics to investigate the etiology of breast cancer in this specific setting.